Bruins ready up for Rangers

Patrice Bergeron’s power-play goal on Sunday night in Buffalo was the game-winner, and it came from a fortuitous bounce off the end boards that found him in the slot for a quick shot past Ryan Miller.

“I was very happy,” he said after Monday’s practice at TDG. “Obviously, we don’t get those bounces that much on the power play this year, so we’ll take that one. Especially last night, I thought we had some good chances 5-on-5, so it’s nice to get a bounce like that.”

The Bruins did some 5-on-4 and 5-on-3 powerplay work on Monday. At 0-for-19, they are yet to score a powerplay goal at home this season, but Bergeron’s tally gave them a 20-percent road rating, putting Boston in the middle of the pack away from home and 28th out of 30 overall (10.3 percent).

At 10 percent, the Rangers are actually worse so far, in 29th place overall. The Colorado Avalanche are at the very bottom (9.1 percent). New York has three PPGs at MSG and only one away from home.

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The urgency to collect points in the early doesn’t change from team to team, but Boston’s record 8-1-1 start (the best 10-game start in club history) will serve them especially well when rest and practice are scarce later in the season. BTW, Saturday’s home game against Tampa Bay that was postponed due to the storm will be played at 7:30 p.m. April 25 at TDG.

“Obviously, you want to win as many games as you can,” said Bruins center Chris Kelly. “You just look at the board in our room. Chicago (10-0-2) hasn’t lost in regulation, but we can’t really do anything about that. We don’t even play them this year, so – unless in the finals but that’s miles away – so we just try to take it one game at a time. It’s a boring cliché, but it’s easy to get ahead of yourself and look past your next opponent, and that’s when you start getting in trouble.”

The Bruins’ only spectacular hiccup this season was a 7-4 debacle against the Sabres on Jan. 31 at TD Garden, a bad loss Boston atoned for with Sunday night’s gritty 3-1 win in Buffalo.

“There were a lot of uncharacteristic plays in our ‘D’ zone,” said Kelly of the initial meeting. “Last game was kind of similar. We had the puck in their end for a lot and had some great chances, but we stuck with it. We didn’t get away from our game.”

Kelly says the Bruins adhere with confidence to their game plan.

“We have a lot of offensive skill here so we’ll get a lot of opportunities and score. So be stingy in your own end and good things happen offensively,” he said.

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Bruins coach Claude Julien has received the Professional Hockey Players’ Association (PHPA) Curt Leichner Distinguished Member Award. The annual award recognized Julien primarily for the leadership he showed during his playing career as it benefitted fellow minor-league players. The union’s honor annually goes to a hockey community member who has made significant contributions towards the advancement of professional minor-league hockey and has continued to diligently serve the sport.

In the mid-80′s, Julien played a 17 NHL games for the Quebec Nordiques including one against the Bruins in Boston Garden, but his legacy as a player was as union rep for the AHL Fredericton Express and, later, as president of the PHPA’s Executive Committee. In his tenure, he initiated discussions that led to an education program and helped set up severance trust-fund and licensing programs that would benefit players particularly in retirement.

Apparently, Julien understood at a young age that players should be ready for anything, considering he went to Quebec from St. Louis with Gord Donnelly in a compensation package for the Blues’ signing of coach Jacques Demers.

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Tyler Seguin was absent from practice, having been given a maintenance day according to Julien.

Winger Jamie Tardif was reassigned to AHL Providence and promptly scored two goals in tonight’s loss to Portland (a postponed game that was originally scheduled for Friday at the Dunk). Great to see that from go-to-the-net Tardif and very unlike the slumps that have ensued in so many similar situations.

Defenseman Aaron Johnson — this is a weird one — wanted to play for the P-Bruins rather than sit upstairs for Bruins games so he went there, only to get sent back when it was determined he couldn’t play for the P-Bruins. The presumption is that he would have to had cleared waivers and the Bruins didn’t want to risk losing his services to another NHL team.

Jay Pandolfo is a veteran player without a contract but one who is now expected to sign a deal with Boston and join the P-Bruins on a conditioning stint. The graybeard winger has been practicing with Boston all along.

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Mick Colageo

Mick Colageo grew up in East Walpole, Mass., skating on Coburn's Pond and at 4 Seasons Arena. He has been writing about hockey since 1986 and covering the Bruins since 1991, is a voting member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, and ... Read Full